Copyright issues in creating an ebook?

IANAL, etc.... BUT, It all depends on the degree to which the specific content of the companion workbook draws on the content of the original book. A solid opinion on this can only come from a lawyer familliar with IP law in your jurisdiction who can review both works (or at least a robust outline of the proposed workbook, plus the original). Yes, there is a substantial risk of being sued -- but that risk won't necessarily scale accurately with the likely success of such a suit. That is, even a well-crafted work that stays within the bounds of what recent case law indicates is acceptable will probably attract legal threats regardless. ...The [Investment Book Title] Workbook... My understanding is that although mere titles, in and of themselves, are not generally afforded copyright protection -- just think how many textbooks there are called Psychology, for example -- the contents of the work, however, are. Still, I would imagine the more the title might confuse your work with the original, the harder it will be to establish your work as non-derivative.

IANAL. But I like to pretend IAAL. You're on pretty thin ice with this idea. Say somebody writes a difficult book, like Finnegan's Wake. You write a guide to that book and call it A Skeleton Key to Finnegan's Wake. (This has been done.) You don't need permission from the author of Finnegan's Wake. You are explaining the book. It's literary criticism and falls into the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_useof the Copyright Act. But. Now you want to create a workbook to allow buyers of your ebook to apply techniques promulgated in Investment Book Title. That's not "criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research," which are delineated in the Act as acceptable purposes for fair use. What you're really doing is extending the Investment Book Title product line. You're not interpreting it, commenting on it, etc. You're using the original concepts and providing templates to apply them, which are rights reserved to the original author. So, agreeing with pork sausages above, you should propose partnering with the original author, who will want a cut of your profits. If you proceed on your own, whether or not the original author has a leg to stand on, you will probably be sued, which is not a Good Thing.

Generally, and IANAL either, this is a trademark issue, not a copyright issue: you can come up with problems that address the same topics as the original book in the same order without it being a derivative work, but you may still be open to litigation if it appears that this book will compete with the original or be reasonably confused as coming from the same folks who put out the primary source.

OK, sounds like not a great idea. Thanks everyone.

I've seen books meant to accompany other books that have been titled "The Unauthorized Companion to [X]", often with a disclaimer on the front in smaller print. IANAL, but the obvious "unauthorized" nature of it might free you.

According to the doctrine of Nominative Use, then I think you can indeed use the other book's name in the title: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nominative_use